PL 38 · cols. 137–141

Augustine, Sermo 20 (De versu 12 Psalmi L, Cor mundum crea in me, Deus)

Sermon XX

SERMO XX. De versu 12 Psalmi L, Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et de versu 5 Psalmi XL, Ego dixi, Domine, miserere mei, etc.

Sermon 20. On verse 12 of Psalm 50, Create a clean heart in me, O God: and on verse 5 of Psalm 40, I said, Lord, have mercy on me, etc.

1. Peccator non potest resurgere per se a peccato absque gratia. Voce consona, corde concordi, pro ipso corde nostro Dominum deprecantes diximus: Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. Hinc pauca quae Dominus dederit, in ejus gratiam manifestabimus vobis. Psalmus

1. The sinner cannot rise again from sin by himself without grace. With harmonious voice, with concordant heart, beseeching the Lord for our very heart, we said: Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my inward parts. On this we shall set out to you, for His grace, the few things which the Lord may grant. The psalm

Editors' notes and page, col. 137

Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO XX› · call in col 137 Castigatus est ad cl. v. et Sirm.

Corrected against cl. v. and Sirm. [Sirmond].

(printed under page 75)

(e) ‹anchor: SERMO XX› · call in col 137

Alias, 3 ex Sirmondianis.

Formerly, the 3rd of the Sirmondian sermons.

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PL 38:138

est poenitentis, amissam spem recuperare cupientis, lapsu suo jacentis, et Deum magnis deprecationibus urgentis, tanquam qui fuerit idoneus ad se vulnerandum, et non sit ad sanandum. Sicut enim ipsam carnem nostram percutere et vulnerare cum volumus, possumus; ut autem sanetur, medicum quaerimus; nec ita nostra potestate salvamur, ut nostra potestate sauciamur: ita ad peccandum anima sibi ipsa sufficit; ad sanandum quod peccatum laeserit, Dei medicinalem dexteram implorat. Unde dicit in alio psalmo: Ego dixi, Domine, miserere mei; sana animam meam, quia peccavi tibi. Ad hoc ait, Ego dixi, ut constitueret ante oculos voluntatem arbitriumque peccandi ex anima oriri, sibique sufficere ut perdat se; Dei autem esse quaerere, et salvum facere quod se vulneraverat. Venit enim Filius hominis quaerere, et salvum facere quod perierat (Luc. XIX, 10). Hinc precem fundentes dicimus: Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. Dicat anima quae peccavit, ne plus pereat desperando, quam se perdidit delinquendo.

is [the voice] of the penitent, who desires to recover the hope he has lost, who lies in his fall, and who presses God with great supplications, as one who was capable of wounding himself and is not capable of healing. For just as we can strike and wound our very flesh when we wish, but in order that it may be healed we seek a physician; and we are not saved by our own power in the way that we are wounded by our own power: so for sinning the soul is sufficient to itself, but for healing what sin has injured it implores the healing right hand of God. Hence he says in another psalm: I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee [Ps. 40:5]. He says I said for this reason, to set before our eyes that the will and choice of sinning arise from the soul, and that it is sufficient to itself to destroy itself; but that it belongs to God to seek and to save what had wounded itself. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what had perished (Luke 19:10). Hence, pouring out prayer, we say: Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my inward parts [Ps. 50:12]. Let the soul that has sinned say this, so that it may not perish more by despairing than it destroyed itself by transgressing.

2. Confessio peccati necessaria, ut venia impetretur. Puniendum peccatum, aut ab ipso peccatore, aut a Deo. Excusatio peccati iniqua est et a diabolo suggeritur. Ante omnia quippe danda est opera, ne peccemus, ne quamdam familiaritatem et amicitiam cum peccato, tanquam cum serpente faciamus. Morsu quippe venenato perimit peccantem, nec tale aliquid est, cum quo facienda sit amicitia: sed si forte aut infirmum oppresserit, aut incauto subrepserit, aut errantem ceperit, aut in errores eundo deceperit non pigeat animam confiteri, nec quaerat excusationem, sed sui accusationem. Nam et inde oravit quodam in psalmo, et ait: Pone, Domine, custodiam ori meo, et ostium continentiae circum labia mea: et non declines cor meum in verba maligna, ad excusandas excusationes in peccatis (Psal. CXL, 3 et 4). Peccatum quisque suadet tibi? ante omnia recusetur. Sed persuasum est? non excusetur, sed potius accusetur. Nam et iste qui dicebat, Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, sic incoepit, Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. Magnam misericordiam magnus peccator implorat: magnam medicinam magnum vulnus desiderat. Ibi dicitur, Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis, et omnes iniquitates meas dele. Cor mundam crea in me, Deus (Psal. L, 3, 11, 12). Avertit ergo Deus faciem suam a peccatis confitentis, et se ipsum accusantis, Deique auxilimn et misericordiam deprecantis. Avertit enim faciem suam a peccatis ejus, non avertendo ab ipso. Cui enim dicitur, Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis, et omnes iniquitates meas dele; eidem alibi dicitur, Ne avertas faciem tuam a me (Psal. XXVI, 9). Avertit, quando non advertit: nam si advertit, evertit. Ideo et judices in convictos reos sententiam proferentes animadvertere dicuntur. Hoc ne faciat Deus, id est, ne animadvertat, dicimus, Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis. Ne agnoscat, ignoscat. Quomod⟨o⟩ autem nobilem dicimus nobilem, non autem nobilem

2. Confession of sin is necessary in order that pardon may be obtained. Sin must be punished, either by the sinner himself or by God. The excusing of sin is wicked and is suggested by the devil. Above all, effort must indeed be given that we do not sin, that we do not make a kind of familiarity and friendship with sin, as with a serpent. For with its poisoned bite it kills the one who sins, and it is not the sort of thing with which friendship should be made. But if perhaps it has overpowered someone weak, or crept up on someone unwary, or caught someone wandering, or deceived someone going into errors, let the soul not be reluctant to confess, and let it seek not an excuse but its own accusation. For on this account too he prayed in a certain psalm, and said: Set, Lord, a guard on my mouth, and a door of restraint around my lips; and do not turn my heart aside to evil words, to make excuses in sins (Ps. 140:3–4). Does someone urge sin upon you? Above all let it be refused. But have you been persuaded? Let it not be excused, but rather accused. For this man too, who said, Create a clean heart in me, O God, began thus: Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy. A great sinner implores great mercy: a great wound longs for a great remedy. There it is said: Turn away Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me, O God (Ps. 50:3, 11, 12). God therefore turns away His face from the sins of one who confesses and accuses himself, and who entreats the help and mercy of God. For He turns away His face from his sins, not by turning away from him. For the very one to whom it is said, Turn away Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities, is the one to whom it is said elsewhere, Do not turn away Thy face from me (Ps. 26:9). He turns away when He does not turn His attention: for if He turns His attention, He overturns. That is why judges too, when pronouncing sentence on convicted defendants, are said to animadvert. That God may not do this, that is, that He may not animadvert, we say, Turn away Thy face from my sins. Let Him not recognize; let Him pardon. But just as we call a noble man noble, but not a noble

Editors' notes and page, col. 138

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Ne agnoscat, ignoscat› · call in col 138

Sirm.: Ne agnoscat, ignoscit. At Ms. v.: Ne agnoscat, ignoscat.

Sirm. [Sirmond]: Ne agnoscat, ignoscit. But Ms. v.: Ne agnoscat, ignoscat.

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PL 38:139

dicimus ig⟨no⟩bilem: sic noscentem noscentem, non autem noscentem ignoscentem. Tamen si vis ut ille ignoscat, tu agnosce. Impunitum non potest esse peccatum. Impunitum esse non decet, non oportet, non est justum. Ergo quia impunitum non debet esse peccatum, puniatur a te, ne puniaris pro illo. Peccatum tuum judicem te habeat, non patronum. In tribunal mentis tuae ascende contra te, et reum constitue te ante te. Noli ponere te post te, ne Deus ponat te ante se. Ideo dicit in eodem psalmo, unde facillimam impetret veniam: Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego agnosco, et peccatum meum ante me est semper (Psal. L, 5). Tanquam dicens, Quoniam ante me est, ne sit ante te; et quia ego agnosco, tu ignosce. Ergo peccatum aut a te punitur, aut a Deo. sed a te sine te, a Deo tecum. Te ergo habeat punitorem, ut tu Deum habeas defensorem. Dic: Ego feci. Ego dixi, Domine, miserere mei; sana animam meam, quoniam peccavi tibi. Ego, inquit, dixi. Ego non quaero ad excusationem peccati, quis de me peccaverit, aut quis me peccare compulerit. Non dico, Fortuna fecit. Non dico, Fatum hoc voluit. Postremo non dico, Diabolus fecit. Nam et ipse diabolus suadendi habet potestatem, postremo terrendi; graves etiam, si permissus fuerit, molestias inferendi: a Domino deprecanda virtus est, ne illecebrosa capiant, aut ne dura confringant. Donet nobis contra illecebras et minas inimici, duas virtutes, continere et sustinere: continere libidines, ne prospera capiant; sustinere terrores, ne adversa confringant. Et cum scirem, inquit, quia nemo potest esse continens, nisi Deus det (Sap. VIII, 21). Hinc ergo dicebat, Cor mundum crea in me, Deus; et, Vae his qui perdiderunt sustinentiam (Eccli. II, 16). Neminem ergo quaeras accusare, ne accusatorem invenias, a quo te non possis defendere. Nam et ipse inimicus noster diabolus quando accusatur, gaudet: et vult omnino ut accuses illum; vult ipse ut a te ferat qualem volueris criminationem, cum tu perdas confessionem. Contra hujus astutiam exclamat ille, Ego dixi, Domine. Sine causa mihi insidiatur inimicus; novi astutias ejus: captat linguam meam, vult ut dicam, Diabolus fecit. Ego dixi, Domine. His ergo versutiis seducit animas, et a medicina confessionis avertit; aut persuadens eis ut se excusent, et quaerant quos accusent; aut persuadens eis, quia jam peccaverunt, ut nunc desperent, et omnino se ad veniam posse pertinere non arbitrentur; aut persuadens eis, quia cito Deus totum ignoscit, ut sese homo non corrigat.

we call ig[no]ble: thus one who knows we call noscens, but one who does not know we do not call ignoscens. Yet if you wish Him to forgive, do you acknowledge. Sin cannot be unpunished. For it to be unpunished is not fitting, is not right, is not just. Therefore, since sin ought not to be unpunished, let it be punished by you, lest you be punished for it. Let your sin have you as its judge, not as its advocate. Go up into the tribunal of your mind against yourself, and set yourself as the accused before yourself. Do not put yourself behind yourself, lest God put you before Himself. That is why he says in the same psalm, whereby he may obtain pardon most easily: For I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is ever before me (Ps. 50:5). As if saying: Since it is before me, let it not be before Thee; and since I acknowledge, do Thou forgive. Therefore sin is punished either by you or by God. but by you without you, by God with you. So let it have you as its punisher, that you may have God as your defender. Say: I did it. I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. I, he says, said. I do not seek, as an excuse for my sin, who sinned through me, or who compelled me to sin. I do not say, Fortune did it. I do not say, Fate willed this. Lastly, I do not say, The devil did it. For the devil himself has the power of persuading, and lastly of terrifying; and also, if he is permitted, of inflicting grievous troubles: strength must be begged from the Lord, lest alluring things capture us, or hard things break us. May He give us, against the allurements and threats of the enemy, two virtues, to restrain and to endure: to restrain desires, lest prosperity capture us; to endure terrors, lest adversity break us. And when I knew, he says, that no one can be continent unless God grant it (Wis. 8:21). Hence therefore he said, Create a clean heart in me, O God; and, Woe to them that have lost endurance (Sir. 2:16). So do not seek to accuse anyone, lest you find an accuser from whom you cannot defend yourself. For our enemy the devil himself, when he is accused, rejoices: and he wholly wishes you to accuse him; he himself wishes to bear from you whatever accusation you like, provided that you lose confession. Against his cunning that man cries out, I said, Lord. Without cause the enemy lies in wait for me; I know his cunning tricks: he tries to catch my tongue, he wants me to say, The devil did it. I said, Lord. By these wiles, then, he seduces souls, and turns them away from the medicine of confession; either persuading them to excuse themselves and to seek whom they may accuse; or persuading them, since they have already sinned, now to despair, and not to think that they can have any claim at all to pardon; or persuading them, since God quickly forgives everything, that a man should not correct himself.

3. Et desperatio et spes impoenitentiae ac perditionis causa. Videte quanta sint, adversus quae vigilare debeat cor poenitentis. Ne se excusando alterum accuset, veniat ei in mentem, Ego dixi, Domine, miserere mei; sana animam meam, quoniam peccavi tibi. Ne desperando pereat, ut quoniam peccavit, et graviter peccavit, putet se jam non posse sanari; et donet se

3. Both despair and hope are a cause of impenitence and perdition. See how many things there are against which the heart of the penitent must keep watch. Lest by excusing himself he accuse another, let there come into his mind, I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. Lest by despairing he perish, so that, because he has sinned, and sinned gravely, he think that he can no longer be healed; and give himself

Editors' notes and page, col. 139

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 139

Ms. v., ne Deus te ponat ante te.

Ms. v., ne Deus te ponat ante te ("lest God set you before yourself").

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 139

Supra, serm. 19, n. 2, et infra Serm. 29, n. 6

Above, sermon 19, n. 2, and below, Sermon 29, n. 6

(printed under page 76)

(b) ‹anchor: posse pertinere› · call in col 139

Forte, pervenire.

Perhaps, pervenire.

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libidinibus, trahendum omnibus cupiditatibus. Facit quidquid libet, quamvis non liceat. Et si non facit, ibi non facit, ubi homines timet. Omnino animo quodam gladiatorio, quoniam vitam desperat, quidquid potest facere ad satiandam cupiditatem et libidinem suam facit, tanquam devotus ad victimam. Tales desperatione pereunt. Contra istos pro his, id est contra tales cogitationes eorum, vigilans Scriptura dixit: In quacumque die conversus fuerit iniquus, et fecerit justitiam, omnes iniquitates ejus obliviscar (Ezech. XVIII, 21, et XXXIII, 14, 15). Rursus recreata anima, si his verbis crediderit, a desperationis malo, inveniet aliam foveam, ut quae desperatione perire non potuit, spe pereat. Et quis est qui spe pereat? Ecce qualem propono, qui dixerit in animo suo: Jam Deus veniam promisit omnibus avertentibus se a peccatis, in quacumque hora conversi fuerint, omnes iniquitat⟨e⟩s eorum obliviscetur: ergo faciam quidquid volo; quando voluero convertam me, delebiturque quod fecero. Quid dicemus? quia non quando se converterit, curat Deus poenitentem? dimittit Deus omnia peccata praeterita? Si negamus, indulgentiae divinae contradicimus: verbis denique propheticis obviamus, divinis eloquiis repugnamus. Non est hoc fidelis dispensatoris.

lusts, to be dragged along by all desires. He does whatever he pleases, though it is not lawful. And if he does not do it, he does not do it there where he fears men. Altogether with a kind of gladiator's spirit, since he despairs of life, whatever he can do to satisfy his desire and his lust he does, like one devoted as a victim for sacrifice. Such men perish by despair. Against these, on their behalf, that is, against such thoughts of theirs, the watchful Scripture has said: On whatever day the wicked man has turned and done justice, I will forget all his iniquities (Ezek. 18:21, and 33:14–15). Again, the soul, revived from the evil of despair if it believes these words, will find another pit, so that one who could not perish by despair perishes by hope. And who is it that perishes by hope? See the kind of man I set before you, who has said in his heart: God has now promised pardon to all who turn themselves away from sins; at whatever hour they have turned, He will forget all their iniquities: so I will do whatever I want; when I want to, I will turn, and what I have done will be wiped out. What shall we say? That God does not heal the penitent when he turns? Does God forgive all past sins? If we deny it, we contradict the divine indulgence: we set ourselves, in short, against the words of the prophet, we fight against the divine utterances. This is not the part of a faithful steward.

4. Non differenda conversio. Omnia sua vult homo esse bona, praeter vitam. Recurrit, et dicit mihi quisquam: Dabis ergo laxamentum peccatis, ut faciant homines quidquid volunt, promissa venia, promissa impunitate cum se converterint? Laxant habenas ad peccandum: feruntur magno impetu, nullo revocante, spe desperati. Itane vero vigilaret Scriptura adversus desperantes, et non vigilaret adversus male sperantes? Audi ejus vigilias adversus malam et perversam spem: Ne tardes converti ad Dominum, neque differas de die in diem: subito enim veniet ira ejus, et in tempore vindictae disperdet te (Eccli. V, 8 et 9). Quid est ergo, maligne sperator? Si desperes, peris; si speres, peris. Ubi tibi tutus locus erit, ut ab utraque fovea te eripias, et constituas te in via recta, serviens Deo, miserans animam tuam, placens Deo? Male desperaba⟨s⟩, audisti, In quacumque die convers⟨u⟩s fuerit iniquus, omnes iniquitates ejus obliviscar. Male sperare coeperas, audisti, Ne tardes converti ad Dominum, neque differas de die in diem. Undique te circumdedit providentia Dei misericorditer. Quid dicis? Promisit mihi Deus indulgentiam; quando me convertero dabit eam. Plane dabit, quando te converteris; sed quare te non convertis? Quoniam quando me convertero, dabit. Prorsus quando te converteris, dabit; sed ipsum quando quando est? Quare non hodie est, quare non cum tu me audis? quare non cum

4. Conversion is not to be postponed. A man wants all his things to be good, except his life. Someone comes back and says to me: So you will give free rein to sins, so that men may do whatever they want, since pardon is promised, impunity is promised when they have turned? They slacken the reins for sinning: they are carried along with great force, with no one calling them back, made desperate by hope. Would Scripture really keep watch against those who despair, and not keep watch against those who hope wrongly? Hear its watches against wicked and perverse hope: Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day: for His wrath will come suddenly, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy you (Sir. 5:8–9). What then, you wicked hoper? If you despair, you perish; if you hope, you perish. Where will there be a safe place for you, so that you may snatch yourself from both pits and set yourself on the right road, serving God, having pity on your own soul, pleasing God? You were wrong to despair; you have heard, On whatever day the wicked man has turned, I will forget all his iniquities. You had begun to hope wrongly; you have heard, Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day. On every side the providence of God has surrounded you mercifully. What do you say? God has promised me indulgence; when I turn, He will give it. Certainly He will give it, when you turn; but why do you not turn? Because when I turn, He will give it. Exactly: when you turn, He will give it; but that very "when", when is it? Why is it not today, why not while you are listening to me? why not while

Editors' notes and page, col. 140

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 140

Victorinus Ms., Facere ; hoc loco tantum.

The Victorine Ms., Facere; in this place only.

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(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 140

Editi, gladiatoritio. At Victorinus Ms., gladiatorio. Sic Enarr. in Psalm. 70, n. 1 : « Jam habens quasi gladiatorium animum, ut ideo faciat quidquid vult, quia necessario damnandus est. »

The printed editions, gladiatoritio. But the Victorine Ms., gladiatorio. So in the Enarration on Psalm 70, n. 1: "Having now, as it were, a gladiator's spirit, so that he does whatever he likes for this reason, that he must of necessity be condemned."

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(3) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 140

Victorinus codex, Rursus creata est anima in his verbis, liberata a desperationis malo, invenit aliam foveam.

The Victorine codex, Rursus creata est anima in his verbis, liberata a desperationis malo, invenit aliam foveam ("Again the soul has been created in these words; freed from the evil of despair, it has found another pit").

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(4) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 140

Editio Sirmondi : Quis est qui spe perit ?

Sirmond's edition: Quis est qui spe perit? ("Who is it that perishes by hope?")

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(5) ‹anchor: ad peccandum› · call in col 140

Victorinus codex, Laxas habenas ad peccatum.

The Victorine codex, Laxas habenas ad peccatum ("You loosen the reins for sin").

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PL 38:141

clamas? quare non eum laudas? Clamor meus sit adjutor pro te: clamor tuus sit testis contra te. Quare non hodie? quare non modo? Cras, inquit; indulgentiam mihi Deus promisit. Cras tu tibi promittis? Aut si forte, si mihi legis de libro sancto, sicut indulgentiam tibi promissam esse converso, sic tibi promissum crastinum diem, differ et crastinum. Nonne hoc primo posuit in terrore medicinali, nonne cum te increparet hoc dixit, Ne differas de die in diem: subito enim veniet ira ejus? Sed videlicet homo sapiens times ne plus habeas biduo bonae vitae. Si erit crastinus dies, sit et hodiernus; et biduum sit. Si enim non erit crastinus dies, hodiernus securum te inveniet: si autem erit crastinus, addetur hodierno. Tu autem cupis habere longam vitam, et non times habere malam vitam. Diu vis vivere, et male vivere. Longum malum quaeris, quare non potius longum bonum? Quid autem non bonum habere vis? Sola vita erit, quae in te mala incurrit. Qualem vestem quaeras, si interrogem te, Bonam respondes; qualem villam, Bonam; qualem conjugem, Bonam; quales filios, Bonos; qualem domum, Bonam; solam vitam malam. Et omnibus bonis tuis praeponis vitam, et inter omnia bona tua solam vis vitam malam. Nam omnia illa quae bona requirebas, vestem, domum, villam, et caetera, paratus es dare pro vita tua. Si tibi quisquam dixerit, Aut da mihi omnia bona tua, aut aufero vitam tuam: paratus es omnia bona tua dare, et illam etiam malam tenere. Quare non vis ut tibi sit bona, pro qua etiam mala das omnia bona? Ecce ablata est excusatio, adsit accusatio, ne inveniat damnatio.

do you cry out? why do you not praise Him? Let my cry be a helper on your behalf; let your cry be a witness against you. Why not today? why not now? "Tomorrow," he says; "God has promised me pardon." Do you promise yourself tomorrow? Or if perhaps, if you read to me from the holy book that, just as pardon has been promised to you once you have turned back, so tomorrow's day has been promised to you, then put it off even until tomorrow. Did He not set this down first as a healing terror, did He not say this when He was rebuking you: Do not put it off from day to day, for suddenly His wrath will come? But plainly, wise man that you are, you are afraid that you may have two days more of good life. If there is to be a tomorrow, let there be today as well; and let it be two days. For if there is to be no tomorrow, today will find you secure; but if there is to be a tomorrow, it will be added to today. You, however, desire to have a long life, and you are not afraid of having a bad life. You want to live long, and to live badly. You seek a long evil; why not rather a long good? And what is there that you want to have that is not good? It will be life alone that falls into badness in you. If I ask you what kind of clothing you would seek, you answer, Good; what kind of country house, Good; what kind of wife, Good; what kind of sons, Good; what kind of house, Good; only your life a bad one. And you set life before all your good things, and among all your good things you want life alone to be bad. For all those things which you were requiring to be good, clothing, house, country house, and the rest, you are ready to give for your life. If anyone should say to you, Either give me all your good things, or I take away your life: you are ready to give all your good things, and to keep that life, bad though it is. Why do you not want it to be good for you, when for it, bad as it is, you give all your good things? See, the excuse has been taken away; let the accusation be present, so that condemnation may not find you.

Post sermonem.

After the sermon.

5. Verbum Dei ministrantes presbyteri. Exhortamur Charitatem vestram, ut impigre et vigilanter verba Dei ministrantibus presbyteris vos audire non pigeat. Dominus enim Deus noster est ipsa veritas, quam auditis per quemlibet loquatur; et nemo est major in vobis, nisi qui minor fuerit. Praeloquendum ergo nobis fuit ex more, et vos facite ex amore.

5. Presbyters ministering the word of God. We exhort your Charity that it may not irk you to listen diligently and attentively to the presbyters as they minister the words of God. For the Lord our God is Himself the truth which you hear, through whomever He may speak; and no one among you is greater, except him who has been lesser. It has fallen to us, then, to speak first, according to custom, and you, do it out of love.

Editors' notes and page, col. 141

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: inveniat damnatio› · call in col 141

Victorinus codex, ne veniat damnatio.

The Victorine codex, ne veniat damnatio ("lest condemnation come").

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(a) ‹anchor: ministrantibus presbyteris› · call in col 141

Verbum Dei soli olim in Ecclesia praedicabant episcopi, quorum id proprie munus erat : post etiam presbyteris, sed non uno apud omnes tempore, permissum. Primi Orientales coeperunt, quod et Pierii presbyteri apud Alexandrinos, et Chrysostomi adhuc item presbyteri apud Antiochenos, aliorumque apud alios exempla declarant. In Africa inusitatum fuit ante Augustinum, cui primum omnium apud Hipponem ea potestas facta est a Valerio episcopo. Possidius in ejus Vita, cap. 5 : « Eidem presbytero potestatem dedit coram se in ecclesia Evangelium praedicandi, ac frequentissime tractandi, contra usum quidem et consuetudinem Africanarum Ecclesiarum. » Valerii exemplum postea secuti sunt alii, et Aurelius episcopus Carthagine, cui hoc nomine gratulatus est Augustinus epistola 77 (nunc 41) quod usurpare coepisset, ut presbyteri praesente ipso sermonem populo funderent. Itaque tanquam usu jam in Africa recepto, presbyteros in hoc genere cum episcopis conjungit in sermone 49, de verbis Domini : « Numquid non ascendit aliquando aut presbyter, aut episcopus, et non dicit aliud de superiore loco nisi ne rapiantur res alienae ? » Apud Gallos serius usurpatum videtur. Nam synodus Vasensis II, quae centum annis posterior fuit Augustino, verbum faciendi presbyteris dat potestatem : antea ergo non habuisse conjectura est ; quam Cyprianus quoque diaconus in Caesarii Arelatensis episcopi Vita confirmat. SIRMONDUS in hunc locum.

Formerly only the bishops preached the word of God in the Church, since that was properly their office; afterwards it was allowed to presbyters as well, though not at one and the same time everywhere. The Easterns were the first to begin, as is shown by the examples of the presbyter Pierius among the Alexandrians, of Chrysostom while likewise still a presbyter among the Antiochenes, and of others elsewhere. In Africa it was unheard of before Augustine, to whom first of all, at Hippo, that power was given by bishop Valerius. Possidius in his Life, ch. 5: "To the same presbyter he gave the power of preaching the Gospel in church in his own presence, and of expounding it very frequently, contrary indeed to the practice and custom of the African Churches." Others afterwards followed Valerius's example, among them Aurelius, bishop at Carthage, whom Augustine congratulated on this account in letter 77 (now 41), because he had begun the practice of having presbyters deliver a sermon to the people in his own presence. And so, as though the practice were already received in Africa, he joins presbyters with bishops in this matter in sermon 49, on the words of the Lord: "Does not a presbyter or a bishop sometimes go up, and say nothing else from the higher place than that other people's goods should not be seized?" Among the Gauls it seems to have come into use later. For the second synod of Vaison, which was a hundred years after Augustine, gives presbyters the power of preaching: the conjecture therefore is that they did not have it before; and the deacon Cyprian also confirms this in the Life of Caesarius, bishop of Arles. SIRMOND on this passage.

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